Extensions of the Body: Writing Instruments
100th Post Celebration Part 3
Since November, I have become interested in creating longhand drafts. It began with an innocent browsing visit to Tabla Rosa, where I noticed they carried Blackwing Pencils, a brand I had read about some years before. These are legendary pencils. Greats like Steinbeck, Capote, and Nabokov used them. They make a cameo in Jaws (it is the pencil that Hooper is biting when he first arrives on Amity Island).
While I hadn’t previously meaningfully integrated writing utensils into my drafting process, the pencils intrigued me. A few weeks later, I returned and bought a dozen Blackwing 602s[1] as well as one of their two-step erasers. This was my stumble down the writing instrument rabbit hole.
The 602 is a high-end pencil with a firm graphite core that feels great in the hand and makes a dark, firm line on the paper. I find that although I was initially skeptical about writing with a pencil, the pencil soon won me over.
Here is a link for the curious
Because the Blackwings are pricey pencils at $30 for a dozen, I decided to look for a more economical alternative. So I tested some Black Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils, hoping they might woe me away from the Blackwings. But when I compared the lines the two models made, the Blackwing's line was bold and dark, while the Ticonderoga's line looked faint and washed out. Yes, the Blackwing is much more expensive, but the Ticonderoga is unsuitable.
One less expensive but feasible alternative to the 602 is Musgrave Pencils out of Tennessee. I have tried their 320 Harvest (a standard hex-shaped pencil) and their Tennessee Round (a round shaped-pencil). Both models produce dark, bold lines like the 602, and I’m still deciding whether I prefer the round-shaped or the hex-shaped models. But I still prefer the Blackwing's feel over both Musgraves because its "rounded hex" shape gives me a slightly more comfortable writing experience. But the Musgraves are half the cost of the cost and are still fantastic to write with. I will buy more of them as backups to the Blackwing pencils.
Here is a link for the curious:
Last month, after the purchase of some ballpoint pens,[2] I wandered into the realm of fountain pens by purchasing a TWSBI Eco-T with a Medium Nib from Parry's Office Supply in Holiday, UT.[3] The Eco is an affordable starter fountain pen that writes smoothly and comes in a bunch of fun colors. I'm glad I bought this model because it has a triangle section that forces your fingers to hold the pen in the way they teach in grammar school. I’ve always had a weird grip and struggled to hold writing utensils in the standard fashion, but this pen changed that. The moment I picked up the Eco-T, my fingers naturally fell into the groves and held the pen correctly without any discomfort. Now, I hold all my pens and pencils “the right way.” Surely my First-Grade teacher would be proud.
Here is a link for the curious:
I had so much fun with the TWSBI that I wanted to upgrade to a pro-level “Workhorse Pen” that would serve my demanding writing needs for years. One of the models that kept coming up in my research was the Lamy 2000. This is a minimalist pen with a Bauhaus-inspired design which has remained unchanged since its introduction in 1966. In fountain pen circles, the pen is held in high regard as a “writer’s pen.” I became interested in the pen and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. On my first visit to Parry’s, I noticed they were a Lamy dealer, so I returned to see if they had any 2000s in stock. They only had one in stock, a Lamy 2K with a fine nib. I picked it up, tried it out, and fell in love. The pen is something to behold. Its engineering is as perfect as it gets. And while its simple design is something that bothers a lot of people, it is one of the things I appreciate most about it. Many fountain pens look like they belong in the pocket of a Hedge Fund manager instead of a writer. The Lamy 2000 is not that kind of pen. I think of this as a "Post-Punk" fountain pen. If Joy Division, Wire, or Gang of Four used a fountain pen, this would be it. No wonder Neil Gaiman writes all his novels with it. The pen also has a hooded nib, which reminds me of Cobras; perfect for someone whose page is called “Asp Avenue.”
Here is a link for the curious:
Before the Lamy caught my fancy, I bought a used Waterman Expert II from eBay. I thought this would be my main workhorse pen, and while it hasn’t quite worked out that way, I’ve been warming up to it over the last few days. This is a smooth-writing charmer that looks like it came straight out’ve a department store in the ‘80s.[4] Great pen.
One of the only issues with the Lamy is that it is slightly difficult to clean completely because it is a piston filler[5] that is not designed to be taken apart. Because of this, I've decided only to use black ink in it. The ink I bought with my TWBI was a bottle of black ink called Onyx from an Ink company called Diamine from England. While the ink worked well in both my TWSBI and my Lamy, I noticed that a few people on the internet said that the ink had stained the inside o their pens.[6] Being as paranoid about such things as I am, I decided better safe than sorry, and I decided to research some black inks. So I looked at the reviews of black inks and saw that a lot of fountain pens users thought that a shade of black from an Italian pen manufacturer called Aurora was "the best," so I ordered a bottle and filled my Lamy with it. This is a really nice ink that flows well from my pen and produces a nice black line on the paper. But I also bought a bottle of Lamy Black, J. Herbin Pearle Noir, manufactured by a company that has been making inks in France since the 1600s, and Pilot Take Sumi (Bamboo Black), all having good reputations online. I will switch between blacks when I clean my pen every six weeks until I decide on the ink that I prefer.
I inked up my TWSBI with a bottle of Diamine Ultra Green. This is the only green ink that I have, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I generally like the ink and its shade of green.
I’m using Waterman Serenity Blue cartridges for the Expert II since I haven’t gotten the correct ink converter for it yet.
Here are some links for the curious:
(Aurora’s site is in Italian, so I subbed a page from the online retailer where I bought the ink).
I’m still experimenting with paper, but I like to use Moleskin notebooks (the thin ones) for my paper drafts and the Leuchtturm 1917 Notebooks for my pen drafts. I prefer lined versions of both notebooks.
The paper I’ve had the best experience with is a Rhodia A4-sized notebook. This paper is the perfect level of smooth, and its white pages let my ink shine. My only issue with the paper is that it is a little too big to integrate seamlessly into my writing routine. But I'm still extremely pleased with this paper.
Here is a link for the curious:
My next post will be the last in this series, finally detailing how I use all these tools. I hope that you will join me.
Thank you,
JD McBride
[1] The 602 is the model they recommend for writers, although they also offer other models more suitable for drafting, drawing, and other purposes.
[2] Pilot Dr. Grip Center of Gravity and Parker Jotters Regular and XL pens.
[3] If you live in the Salt Lake City area and need a good office supply store, Parry's can't be beat. They carry Lamy and TWSBI and will let you test the fountain pens so you can find one with a nib that works for you. They also carry paper and ink. Highly recommended.
[4] Even though the first version of the model wasn’t released until 1993, and the second model, the one I own, wasn’t released until circa 2000.
[5] This refers to the mechanism that the pen fills with bottled ink. Other filling methods for modern fountain pens include vacuum fillers, cartridge converters, and some take disposable ink cartridges.
[6]More on the Diamine Onyx’s reputation for staining pens. There were a few threads where users mentioned this issue, giving me the impression that this might be a widespread problem with the ink. But when I cleaned out both the Lamy and TWBI, the Onyx came out of both pens with the use of only water, without any issues. But I only used the ink for a few weeks, and during that time, I was using both pens at least a little bit each day. So perhaps the Diamine Onyx only causes problems if you aren’t regularly cleaning the pen or you let the ink dry out. I have no idea. So, I’m still planning on using the ink sometime in the future because I think it is a nice black ink. But I will use it with care.
Excellent pen and sketchbook choices! Blackwing is also fantastic. 🙌